Business Advocacy

Arizona $11.8B FY2020 Budget Good for Northern ArizonaBy: Joe Galli

The Greater Flagstaff Chamber has long been a champion of funding local schools. Just this past week, the Arizona Legislature wrapped-up work on the State’s annual budget concluding with $11.8 billion in expenditures for fiscal year 2020 beginning July 1. The Greater Flagstaff Chamber signed a letter in favor of the budget passed by the Republican-led House and Senate, and signed by Governor Doug Ducey, which provided extraordinary funding for our Arizona education system.

This budget provided the following for:

K-12:

• $165 million to fully fund 20 percent teacher pay raises by school year 2020

• $136 million to speed up the restoration of recession-era cuts to District and Charter Additional Assistance

• $88 million for school building renewal

• $76 million for new school construction

• $30 million in new dollars for high-performing schools through results based funding

• $20 million to hire more school counselors and cops on campus

• $10 million to grow Career and Technical Education programs at public high schools

• $1.5 million in permanent funds for Foster Youth Education

Higher Education:

• $35 million in funding for Arizona’s three public universities, ASU, U of A and NAU

• $15 million in permanent, ongoing funds to expand the Arizona Teachers Academy

• $14.2 million for rural community colleges outside of Pima and Maricopa County

• $1 million for Diné College, a community college on the Navajo Nation

• $1 million for the National Guard Tuition Reimbursement

• $500,000 for Northern Arizona University’s Freedom School

Infrastructure & Economic Development:

• $130 million over three years to expand Interstate 17

• $95.3 million for targeted priority infrastructure projects

• $11.3 million to eliminate counties paying for a share of operating costs at the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

• $3 million to expand broadband services in underserved rural areas

• $2.2 million for the Arts

• $1.1 million to promote tourism

• $1 million for a business one-stop, helping entrepreneurs furthering Arizona’s economic growth

• $700,000 for a Mariposa Port of Entry Cold Inspection Facility

We are proud of the great work done in Phoenix by our LD 6 representatives Walter Blackman & Bob Thorpe, and Senator Sylvia Allen who fight tirelessly for rural Arizona each session at the Arizona Capitol.